The county is having a SPLOST work session at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 29 at the Historic Courthouse, and Newton County's mayors are preparing to make a united stand to make sure they receive their fair share of SPLOST dollars.

The former Komastu forklift plant in Lochridge Industrial Park was purchased for $4 million by local business Kelly Products, owned by Keith Kelly.

Kelly could not be reached for comment during the past few weeks, but he appears to be the owner of several local companies including Contract Packaging, Kelly Products and Kelly Registration Services, according to county tax documents and various company websites.

Bob Riddell is fed up with the way the city's been treating him and he's making it known. As the owner of Dixie Jet Services, the firm that operates the Covington Municipal Airport, Riddell has been struggling to operate his business during a down economy, a runway construction project that went months past deadline and a threat of early termination looming over his head.

Riddell said he's had to sell off assets, including planes and even personal property, and take out a significant chunk of loans, just to weather the year that the airport has been either ...

Although Covington's City Charter contains several pages about the structure of its government, very little information about the actual roles and duties of the city manager, council and mayor are contained in the 48-year-old document.

The Covington City Council set out to better define its role at its strategic planning retreat, and it plans to build the list it created into the city charter to make the changes formal.

The Covington Municipal Airport once again ran low on fuel, and it appears airport operator Dixie Jet Services may have run out of second chances.

The Covington City Council has again summoned the company, this time to its Sept. 8 council meeting, to discuss a failure to maintain an adequate supply of Jet A aviation fuel. Jet fuel is similar to highly purified kerosene.

The City of Covington has several important issues on its plate, including switching away from its defined-benefit retirement plan, possibly grooming a future replacement for City Manager Steve Horton and its future participation in the Leadership Collaborative.

As he snipped the red, celebratory ribbon, District 4 Commissioner J.C. Henderson officially opened the Nelson Heights Community Center, completing a dream several years in the making.

"Most people know that even though it's been appointed as being my idea, it's not. It's really your idea," Henderson told the assembled crowd that packed the new center. "When we first started thinking about the 2005 SPLOST, we wanted to go out to people who lived in the community and ask for your ideas, your opinions. What do you want? What's your vision?"

The City of Covington is taking steps to increase diversity in both its work force and list of contractors, following a candid discussion at the city council's strategic planning retreat, spurred by Councilwoman Hawnethia Williams' concerns.

The city will post job openings and project bids in non-traditional locations, including community centers, churches and post-secondary schools, according to City Manager Steve Horton who discussed the matter with Personnel Director Ronnie Cowan after Monday's session.